Posted on September 11, 2012, Tuesday

KOTA KINABALU: The involvement of workers from Sabah in crime could be due to irresponsible agents who brought them to Singapore, said Assistant Resource Development and Information Technology Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad.

She noted there have been cases where young people from the rural areas in Sabah were recruited and cheated by unscrupulous employment agency to work overseas, including in Singapore.

These agents, she said, promised the youngsters high paying jobs, only to force them to work for less than what was promised.

As a result, some of these workers tried to get out of their contract but have to take extra jobs in order to pay the transportation cost they owed to the agents.

The assistant minister was commenting on the new ruling imposed by Singapore on workers from Sabah and Sarawak after a series of crimes and fights involving rowdy native Sabahans and Sarawakians in the republic.

Fresh workers below 35 were barred entry while those within that age group and already working there could not renew their work permits after they expire within two years.

Jainab proposed that the Singaporean authorities liaise with the Sabah government to address the issue of rowdy workers, including screening them for criminal record.

She said this would help reduce chances of recruiting crime and violence-prone workers.

She also raised possibilities that those involved in crime in Singapore could not be from Sabah and Sarawak, or not even from Malaysia at all, as there have been cases in the past where other nationals posed as Malaysians to work in other countries using fake documentations.

Jainab added Sabahans are peace-loving people and were known across the country for their warmth and friendliness.

She said employers in Peninsular Malaysia liked to hire the young people from Sabah because they are hard working and do not cause much problem.

“You can see a lot of Sabahans working as staff and officers, especially in the hotel and services sector in the peninsula.

“I think a thorough study should be conducted with a view to maintain the good relationship between Sabah and Singapore,” she said suggesting the new ruling be lifted.

Jainab added the new ruling hurt the feelings of all Sabahans and Sarawakians. The Singapore government should not be barring everyone based on the action of a few.

“There are foreign workers involved in crimes anywhere, even here in Sabah, but we have never barred anyone from any country just because of what a few of their fellow countrymen did,” she said.

The Karambunai assemblywoman said Malaysia respected its neighbour’s rights to impose any laws but Singapore should study the matter further and not run the risk of causing “uneasiness” among the citizens of the two countries.

She expressed confidence that the Foreign Ministry in Putrajaya will sort the issue out with its Singaporean counterpart, adding that Malaysia and Singapore always have good diplomatic ties regardless of some minor issues in the past.

To those affected by the new ruling, she advised them not to be choosy and take up available jobs in Peninsular or return to work in Sabah.

She said while it was good to travel abroad to gain exposure and work experience, the young people should also consider working at home as there were ample job opportunities in various sectors locally.

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Johannesburg – South Africa has achieved far more in 18 years in service delivery than any other country, President Jacob Zuma said on Monday.

“No country could have produced the delivery we have made in 18 years,” he told the SA Local Government Association (Salga) national conference in Midrand.

He said government successes in service delivery were lost in the “hurley-burley” of competitive politics.

Non-delivery of services often had to do with problems inherited from apartheid, he said.

“There is a common tendency to look at government at all levels as if those who are governing have brought the problem, instead of deep-seated challenges (from) the past.”

Government was working hard to address these problems, Zuma said.

Government was shy to boast about its successes and this then created a space for those criticising government to sound like they were telling the truth.

“All I am calling for is balanced reporting about the progress we have made in this country.”

Conference delegates welcomed Zuma in song with a smattering of people holding up two fingers – a sign favouring Zuma to serve a second term as African National Congress president.

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Photo by Torin Halsey/Times Record News
Willie Howard shows one of the wooden stakes he makes at Work Services Corporation. The nonprofit specializes in finding employment opportunities for a wide variety of people with physical, mental or other disabilities.

Torin Halsey/Times Record News
Andy Fuentes, paper clip manufacturing supervisor, describes how specialized machinery creates paper clips from a spool of wire. Work Services Corp. has a contract to supply millions of paper clips to the government each year.

Photo by Torin Halsey/Times Record News
A bin full of newly-formed paper clips at Work Services Corporation. The nonprofit has a contract with several office supply companies and the federal government and makes millions of paper clips per week. Work Services Corp. provides employment opportunities for dozens of individuals with a variety of disabilities, both in-house and as employees at various businesses around the community.

There is no grumbling in the Work Services Corp. break room on a Thursday morning. No unhappy employees who’d rather be somewhere else, doing anything else.

“Happy birthday to you!” crooned Crystal Otley, thrilled to serenade a co-worker because, well, she likes everyone she works with on the paper clip line, and the firm’s monthly birthday celebrations are her favorite.

Even in a tough job market, employers never stop needing dependable, hardworking employees.

Work Services Corp. has been training developmentally, physically and emotionally challenged North Texans for almost 60 years, matching their abilities with jobs that give them the sense of pride and accomplishment others sometimes forget.

Now the venerable nonprofit finds itself in the midst of a challenge. Most of the jobs its clients have are the result of state and federal contracts for everything from paper clips made in its factory to lawn maintenance, janitorial services, warehousing and stocking, food service and highway cleanup.

Budget cutbacks, however, have left disabled people on waiting lists for a static number of WorkServices jobs.

“We need to add more contracts, find new work for our people to do,” said Mark Towne, the agency’s workforce director. “We provide the kind of specialized training and support for employees for whom a job is more than just a paycheck. It’s a way to make a contribution, to build self-esteem, to feel useful with the skills and abilities they do have.”

Between 500 and 700 people with disabilities find employment through Work Services Corp.

“Our carpentry shop produces wooden stakes in several sizes for the state to be used as survey, highway and construction markers, but we can make almost anything,” Towne said, showing off a handsome Adirondack chair and photos of a dorm at Faith Refuge filled with sturdy Work Services bunk beds.

“Here’s a model we call The Duke, a bunk with stairs instead of a ladder, with lots of built-in storage. We put an ad on Craig’s List, and a woman in Tennessee told us exactly what she wanted.”

Billy Hill, Work Services employment services director, said the program has the capacity to collaborate with employers to custom match people to jobs which sometimes might seem monotonous or repetitive to others. Small parts assembly or quality inspection are examples.

The Armory Road plant has a contract to place gold mylar toppers, an eye-catching marketing device, on jars of Eagle Flats picante sauce; Work Services clients have no problem spending their workday at the task.

Outside the workshop, other clients are trained to do tasks like shredding documents for local banks.

“Our clients have a remarkable range of abilities, from those who can’t read to people with master’s degrees. They don’t have to work, they want to work, and we can provide the kind of focused job coaching that makes the match benefit everyone,” Hill said. “And just as important, we don’t charge employers or our clients these services.”

Karen Sternadel, assistant work center director for the nonprofit, said one of the most gratifying parts of her career has been to see the difference a job can make in the lives of WorkServices clients, many of whom she has known for decades.

“Even though they’re considered disabled, like most of us, they don’t want to sit at home doing nothing. Coming to work is more than a job for them, it’s social contact, a place where they can make friends and feel needed,” Sternadel said. “And you ought to be here on paycheck day. The look of pride they have knowing they earned their own money to buy the things they need, it’s heartwarming.”

Companies interested in contract opportunities or with inquiries about carpentry services through Work Services Corp. can contact Towne at 940-766-3207, ext. 24 or mtowne@workservicescorp.com.

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(UKPA)
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2 hours ago 

Recruitment agencies placed more people in temporary jobs last month, for the first time this year, although permanent posts continued to fall, according to research.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG said the report showed the “resilience” of the labour market, and could signal the start of economic recovery.

The fall in permanent staff placements in August was “modest”, while demand for staff from private firms increased, especially for short-term contracts.

Healthcare workers were the most sought after type of employee last month.

REC chief executive Kevin Green said: “This month’s data shows yet again the remarkable level of resilience within the UK labour market as it continues to outperform predictions.

“It’s clear that being one of the most flexible labour markets in Europe has helped the UK avoid the high levels of unemployment experienced elsewhere on the continent.

“Recruiters tell us the first rise in the placement of temp workers in nine months is because employers are calling on that flexibility offered by agency staff as a way to grow to meet recent increases in demand, like that seen last month in the service sector.”

Bernard Brown of KPMG added: “With question marks still hanging over the long-term state of the economy, it would be easy to suggest that an upward curve in the jobs market is nothing more than a blip, but the truth is that, in some parts of the country, we are actually seeing a growth in the number of companies recruiting and where there is a decline it is now virtually insignificant.

“It may be slow, but perhaps we are witnessing the first signs of recovery. Temporary placements are also on the up, so the hope must be that employer confidence is returning, that they are looking to the long-term and recruiting for growth.”

Copyright © 2012 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

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